Things were going really well for me yesterday. It was really strange. After staying up a good three hours after the time I would have usually been asleep to take photos for a class, I woke up a little late for another class in the morning. I thought my day would be going downhill from there. But it didn't. My commute in the mornings is by way of Topanga Canyon to PCH to get to Santa Monica rather than taking the 405, which is substantially slower; but in order for the TC trip to be faster, I have to leave by a certain time or else the light on PCH and Topanga becomes much too long and it becomes a parking lot. And it did become a parking lot.

I show up to class a good thirty minutes late, which is pretty bad considering this professor takes points off for tardiness and absences in a course where each point equals one percent of the final grade. But as soon as I walked into the class, I noticed there wasn't even a trace of a teacher. Well there was, a jacket was on his chair. I sit down in my own chair and ask the dude behind me where the teach had disappeared to, he replied that the professor had come rather late and was getting his morning coffee. I was astounded. Coffee, in the morning? I'm joking, I was astounded by the lateness on the teacher's part. But then I thought and realized that the other two meetings we've had so far in this class, he was also a little, but by five minutes, not by thirty. That was luck. It was my day.

The rest of the day was thrown off because of me waking up late that morning, as I showed up late to my second class as well, but only by a minute or two. That professor was late as well! My first class' professor was late, which isn't anything strange in and of itself, but two professors in the same day? That's just strange. So I head home for my regular three hour Tuesday break, I have to get those photos ready from that morning because they're do that night, and I get caught up in the NBA season opener and such. But after getting drowsy just by reading the word "Spurs" I decided I would organize my Winter schedule. I soon lost track of time. RateMyProfessors.com is a great site to just read. I ended up leaving my house in the Valley a good twenty minutes after I normally do. But things were going my way that day, so I felt pretty confident I would get to class on time. Early in fact. I wanted to also, not because the teacher marked down if you were late, he didn't, he didn't care; but because if we were late, we could not show our photos in class if they were due that day. I love being able to participate in these photo showcases, the teacher makes it extremely fun.

In the afternoons, I take the 101 to the 405, and sometimes to the 10, or not, depending on the traffic. It normally takes me about thirty minutes or so to take that route. from the Valley to my class. I left the house at about 6 PM. Class started at 6:30 PM. I was cutting it rather close. I headed to Ventura to jump on the 101 whilst checking Google Maps for the traffic report. I should've done so earlier because as soon as I got to Ventura I looked and saw that it said that the 101 was a parking lot until the 405. I was pissed. Why hadn't I looked at it earlier? I could've taken Burbank to the 405, that would've been a lot faster than the 101 lot. Well I decided, stupid me, to continue down Ventura. I have never seen it so jammed. By this point, I thought my luck had ended. I finally made my way down to the 405, it took me twenty minutes. Wow. My class started in ten minutes. I had ten minutes to go over the hill or else I wouldn't be able to show my photos. That route take takes me at least twenty minutes to complete, and that's at night when there is zero traffic. I told myself I would not be able to get there in time with this extraordinary traffic. But as soon as I jumped onto the 405, it came to me. The carpool lane.

I've always seen single drivers drive in the lane without a worry, and I've always been too nervous about following in traffic; cops give me the creeps. But it jumped at me, fly through through the carpool lane. I have no idea how I did it, but I made it to Wilshire in ten minutes, at 6:30. Amazing. But I was still late. I had to exit Wilshire because the cars started to stop all of a sudden a few hundred feet after the Wilshire exit. I usually take Olympic. Wilshire was packed too! But that's a given. I hate Wilshire. The worst homeless in the city, haha. I looked at my watch and noticed that I was late. And then I thought to myself, wouldn't it be funny if this professor was late too? I had reached here in record time, maybe my lucks is still with me? But he's never late, especially on days we have to show photos. He's early then. Extra early. So I told myself that that was probably not going to happen. But I couldn't help think in the back of my head about my lucky day thus far., but you have to remember, yesterday was just going awesome for me.

The streets of Santa Monica were brain-numbing. If you were on them yesterday, I feel your pain and I'm sorry. I have no idea what the hell was going on there but the cars were just sitting there. I don't know how I did it, but I took Idaho and walked into class at 6:40 PM, amazingly only a few minutes late. John, my professor, asks me if I was stuck in traffic. I say yes and he asks for my photos. He says half the class was stuck in traffic so he's still taking the photos if we come late. He says he himself was late as well.... Was yesterday my day or what? Not only were my photos a hit that night, but after class on the drive back from class, I was getting tailgated by this idiot driver (who I think was a girl, not because she sucked a driving but because I think she had long hair - but so do I) in a Pontiac G6 who got pulled over a few moments after I yelled at her to stop tailgating me. I was in shock. The cops were on my side!

Oh my story isn't over. My day hadn't ended. I get home to watch the second half of the first Laker game against the Rockets in LA (oh by the way, go to the Laker site, they have a beautiful intro video). I was listening to the end of the first half on 570 KLAC, home of the Lakers, and it said they ended the half tied at 43. I was pretty amazed because I had a feeling the Lakers wouldn't be doing that well. You don't have to be a genius to know that Kobe and the Laker suits have been causing quite a ruckus lately. It's all sad news but nothing will obviously happen. And anyway, I always think the Lakers will do amazing so I don't let those stupid rumors get in the way. I hope you saw last night's game, because it was a doozy. Usually by the near-end of Laker games, when we're behind with only a few minutes left in the fourth (probably 75% of the time), my mind starts to buzz. I start to think of plays that the Lakers could make that would give us huge amounts of points in a short period of time. Such as this, Kobe going up for a three and making it but getting fouled, a flagrant foul that the defense finds absurd and start cursing at the ref so they get a technical, and then Kobe shooting both of the free throws before getting the ball back and sinking another three leading them to go up eight points within a matter of a few seconds. That's where my brain always ends up at the end of Laker games, until last year when some announcer said that there's some limit on the amount of points a team could get in on possession. Shut up. And most of the time I think that it wouldn't make sense for this strange series of events to happen to them because the team hadn't been that all that great all night. But in last night's case, you have to remember yesterday was my day. With ninety seconds left in the game, the Lakers down by double digits, we fly back to tie it with twenty-five seconds left. I was in shock. But I shouldn't've been because it was my day. But then Battier sunk that three and then the Lakers weren't able to get a second foul on the last possession of the game, and we lost by two points - then I decided my lucky day was over. And it because nothing else that was lucky happened after that.

In fact, Laker stories have become pretty unlucky. There was yet another rumor today about a three-way deal with Chicago and Sacramento, but it of course didn't go through; who would've thought. Kobe's our guy, and he's not leaving. He doesn't want to leave and he won't be leaving anytime soon. Or so I hope. Because I don't want to see him go, and neither does any other Los Angeles fan (except for probably a Clipper fan, those idiots). I was angered by the boos from last night. I myself would never boo the man no matter how much he said he wanted to leave. I might've been disgusted with the guy, which I was, angered a lot of us, but I wouldn't want to boo him. Would never boo Kobe. Unless of course he leaves Los Angeles angrily, then I'll probably throw stuff at him when he runs across the court. But that will not be happening anytime soon. Kobe doesn't want to leave, Phil doesn't want him to leave, Los Angeles doesn't want him to leave. The suits are the only ones that want him to leave. But they can't get anyone for Kobe. Not because Kobe sucks (are you freaking seriously thinking that?), but because no one wants to give away all fifteen of their players in return for the one-man-show, Kobe Bryant. haha, imagine Kobe being literally one-on-five for a whole game. haha, sorry. Anyway, Kobe is not leaving, says the Los Angeles fan in me. They can make all the rumors they want, Jerry and Mitch could make all the deals they want, but nothing's going to fall through, they're all going to fail. I remember someone saying that Kobe has this thing on his contract that says he and only he has the final word on a trade. And if Kobe doesn't want to leave Los Angeles, why would he be traded? I hope he doesn't get traded because a Kobe-less Lakers is nothing - even though I loved that preseason game against the Kings last Friday, I still knew in the back of my head that Kobe would be back. Kobe's staying everyone. He isn't going anywhere. But then again, he might be packing his bags for Chicago by morning. Hope not though. We love you, Kobe.

That was what I wanted to talk about mostly, the other thing I wanted to put up is an interview between Conan and Charles Barkley, the great fat black bald guy. We all love Charles. He was on Conan to talk about the NBA coming back. He's way too funny, and the interview was way too funny. And if you don't know "JubJub" is a word that Conan has been trying to get on TV as much as possible for as long as he could, he wants Chuck to say it on TNT, haha. He got it into the World Series Conan did. Anyway, the interview was beyond hilarious. Conan is great and Chuck is great. Download the interview here if you missed it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go dip some candy in honey and put it in front of my house for trick-or-treaters to get their sticky paws on, literally. Those devils will never know what him 'em I tell ya. Happy All Saints' Day Eve! The important word being Saints, go Saints! Take care everyone, and don't you all go getting fat in one night. see u.